JAKARTA, thekabarnews.com—Indonesia has intensified weather-modification operations in four provinces as the government seeks to disperse thick smoke, support rainfall and accelerate efforts to contain forest and land fires (karhutla).

State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said the government was concentrating the operations in South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and West Kalimantan. The response combines dry-ice dispersal with conventional cloud seeding using sodium chloride (NaCl).

“We are now using dry ice to disperse the smoke so sunlight can enter and help trigger cloud formation,” Prasetyo said, according to the State Secretariat.

He added that crews would subsequently use NaCl to encourage rainfall when suitable clouds developed. Moreover, authorities had received reports of rain in several districts, he said. The government did not specify each location or the rainfall volume.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the two techniques serve different purposes.

Aircraft disperse dry ice above an atmospheric inversion layer that can trap smoke close to the surface. As the dry ice sublimates, it rapidly cools the surrounding air and can destabilize the layer. This process allows vertical air movement to resume. NaCl seeding, by contrast, targets suitable clouds to increase the prospect of rain.

“This condition allows smoke to rise vertically and disperse into the atmosphere,” BMKG weather-modification deputy Tri Handoko Seto said.

BMKG assesses the operations through visibility readings and PM2.5 concentrations rather than rainfall alone.

In Central Kalimantan, a joint team operated a TNI Air Force CASA 212 aircraft from Syamsudin Noor Airport in Banjarbaru on Oct. 19 and 20.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that crews completed five sorties and dispersed 3.2 tonnes of dry ice along with 800 kilograms of NaCl over Palangka Raya. They also covered the area surrounding Tjilik Riwut Airport.

BNPB said visibility around Palangka Raya improved from as little as 100 meters during severe haze to about 1,000 meters on Tuesday, Oct. 20. BMKG’s forecast also recorded light rain in several Palangka Raya districts that day.

However, changes in visibility may also reflect wind, humidity, rainfall and fluctuations in fire activity. A complete assessment therefore requires air-quality data and sustained observations rather than a single visibility reading.

President Prabowo Subianto has ordered agencies to expand aerial operations and deploy Hercules aircraft alongside smaller CASA planes. The operation involves BNPB, BMKG and the Indonesian military (TNI), with support from the Forestry Ministry and other agencies.

Earlier government data showed that more than 60,000 personnel were supporting ground operations across the most affected provinces. Officials said crews were also using water-bombing helicopters while weather teams sought opportunities to seed rain clouds.

Weather modification can assist emergency operations, but it cannot replace ground firefighting, peatland management or action against deliberate burning. The government’s next test will be whether improved visibility develops into sustained gains in air quality and fewer active fires.